4A-I girls: Wamego reaches final vs. oft-crowned power Miege

SALINA — While her teammates started their quest for a second consecutive state basketball title, Wamego sophomore Caitlin Claussen spent December watching on the sideline.

Three months later, the transfer from Manhattan played a key role in helping the Red Raiders arrive at the doorstep of their goal.

Claussen boosted Wamego’s 1-2 punch of sisters Kaylee and Lanie Page with her 13 points and seven rebounds in Wamego’s 52-39 semifinal victory over KC Piper in the Class 4A Division I tournament at the Bicentennial Center.

Wamego (24-0) won its 39th consecutive game dating back to last season, when it won the Class 4A title. The Raiders will try to duplicate the feat against Miege in Saturday’s championship game.

Lanie Page scored 18 points and Kaylee Page had 11 as Wamego defeated a Piper team that scored 77 points against Coffeyville in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. The Raiders outrebounded Piper, 43-28, and held the Pirates to 28-percent shooting (11 of 39).

"That’s what I try to do each night," said Claussen, who joined Wamego’s lineup in the sixth game of the season. "Most of the time, I just try to find open people, but they were staying off me tonight, so I thought, ‘Why not shoot it?’"

Piper (20-4), which got 12 points from Jessica Wayne and 10 from Haley White, was within 44-37 with 3:13 to play. But Claussen hit a free throw, and Lanie Page followed with four points that pushed Wamego’s advantage to 49-37.

"Caitlin played great," Wamego coach Jim Page said. "A couple of her plays were just sheer hustle and that’s her game. She’s so athletic, probably as good of an athlete as we have."

The Raiders led by as many as 16 points, in part to their rebounding advantage. Wamego had 20 offensive boards,which offset its 33-percent shooting.

"We scored 77 the other night, but we weren’t facing 6-foot-2 and 6-3 like we were tonight," Piper coach Shane Stout said. "I was proud of our effort. We had some opportunities and some good looks, I thought. We just couldn’t hit them."

MIEGE 64, ANDOVER CENTRAL 52 — Shelbe Piggie scored 26 points and Miege raced to a 20-2 lead en route to a berth in its 22nd state championship game.

Piggie had six steals as Miege used its 2-2-1 press to help force 24 Central turnovers. Still, Central, led by 18 points from Skyler Snodgrass, cut its deficit to three points on two occasions in the fourth quarter. But Piggie scored 15 of Miege’s final 17 points to help the Stags advance.

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